Little Rats

Alexander sat at his desk, scribbling thoughts down on paper of a short story or comic he had about a vigilante who fought crime and the technocracy. He thought of some bad guys, the places, and everything else, but the name was eluding him.

"Name him after me," Franklin squeaked, and Alexander looked at his companion with a smirk.

"Yes, I really want to name him Franklin with stubby arms. Though I’d rather name him after one of your other species, like the giant land octopus, or even better, the glass octopus, since it jumps from tree." Alexander scribbled the name down on the paper: The Adventures of The Glass Octopus.

"I still like, Franklin: The Boy Wonder better," Franklin squeaked disappointedly.
The sounds of the ship were usually quiet with the occasional sounds of a flute or Rilain shuffling around when she was bored. But the sounds of footfalls creaking through the floor from topside made Alexander come back to reality, reaching for his revolver and scribbling, “Intruder,” on a piece of paper and handing it to Franklin.
"Take this to Rilain. Now. We have company," Alexander said, slowly moving out of his room. This was his ship and someone was going to pay.
Franklin plopped down on the ground and scurried off to find his companion through some a hole in the wall to the secret passages through other rooms he used to navigate around the belly of the Gazelle.
He arrived in Rilain's room minutes later. She was going to play a song on her flute, but she noticed Franklin coming in carrying a small note. She reached for the note as soon as Franklin came within arm’s reach. She read it, grabbed her shotgun, and started for the door, now aware of the strange sound.
Alexander made his way through the ship, noticing that the sounds were coming from the cargo hold. He slowly entered, trying not to spook whoever was there. He saw three shadows illuminated by the ship’s lighting. He silently pulled the hammer back carefully to take aim, squeezing the trigger gently as the gun fired, sending a bullet hurling at one of the assailants. The shot hit one in the arm, causing him to fall to the floor as the other two grabbed what they needed and ran. Rilain came around the corner, slamming her shotgun into the second one as the third made it up the stairs and off the ship with whatever they had stolen.
Alexander walked back to the two others they had captured, Rilain having tied them up. As they started regaining consciousness, Alexander noticed that they were kids from Conwell. He checked his ammunition in front of the kids before choosing his words. "You broke into my ship and decided to steal from me. Now you're going to tell me what I want to know or I'm going to murder you. Slowly," Alexander said, pulling the hammer back.
One of the kids whined, "We’re not going to talk."
Alexander pointed his gun at the one he already shot. "Where’s your friend going and what did you steal?"
The other kid coughed up. "I'm not going to sell out my friend for a worthless bounty hunter."
Alexander shot his friend in his other arm as he cursed and started to bleed out. "You know, I’m not good at talking, since I'm a worthless bounty hunter, as you so boldly called me. But I do have a knack for making people talk. I wouldn't call it torturing...but in this situation, we can call it torture," Alexander said, calmly. He walked over to the man who had called him worthless, then turned and said to his companion, "Rilain, can you bring me the lightning gun battery  and cables? I'm going to see how much electricity this human body can take before it breaks or until I get answers." The boy’s eyes went wide with the realization of what he might be subjected to if he didn't start talking.
"You’re bluffing…" He muttered.
Alexander put another round into his friend’s leg with a grin. "Do you think I’m bluffing now?" Alexander stated, the boy’s friend screaming in pain.
"Just tell them what he needs to know," the other boy cried.
Rilain came walking in, carrying a box with two long cables.
"Found them," Rilain said, placing the box right in front of the kids’ feet.
"Well, I'll give you the option of telling me now and leaving with your friend as I go get my property back," Alexander said. The kid looked like he didn’t want to turn his friend in.
“I'm not a snitch," he said, determined to make a stand.
Franklin, who had been sitting by, oddly quiet, decided to speak finally. "This is going to be fun. Break him."
Alexander turned his head. "Seems like that's our only option," he said, picking up the cable and attaching them to the prongs on the battery, then touching the two wires together to see if it was working. Sparks came cascading off of them.
"Last chance," Alexander said, but the boy said nothing. Alexander stepped in, placing the wires on the kid, making him scream as the voltage coursed through his body. "Are we talkative yet?" Alexander asked as he pulled the wire back. No response still. He applied the cables again and the kid screamed in agony. Instead of taking them off, Alexander left them on him, the other boy’s friend yelling, "You're killing him! Stop, stop, I'll tell you everything! Just stop!"
Alexander stopped for the time being. "Tell me what I want to know. Now start talking," Alexander demanded.
The kid spilled everything he knew: where their hideout was and which scumbag had hired them. He was a man who had limped on his left leg from a bullet Alexander had shot earlier for insulting Rilain.
Alexander pulled his gun out and shot the man he was torturing in the head. He slumped in his chair, and his friend cried out, "You said you wouldn’t hurt us if we told you what you wanted to know!"
A smile crept across Alexander’s face. "I never said both of you would live, just the one who gave me the information. Now it’s time to get to work." He threw the kid into one of the cages. "If you lied to me, I know where to find you now," Alexander said as he grabbed a smoke bomb on his way out to Pier 48.
Rilain walked with Alexander down to Pier 48 where a small smuggler’s ship was docked. Rilain looked confused about what they were going to do.
"You know, fighting in a ship is always a hassle. The best way to catch prey is make it come to you," he said, breaking a port hole and tossing in a few smoke bombs. Within moments, the ship filled with smoke and the entire crew came running out the door, one he recognized as the child who had stolen from him.
Alexander fired, dropping the child. Two more crew members ran out and died by his hand, and finally, the captain staggered out, disoriented from the smoke. After noticing his dead crew, he reached for his pistol, but a shotgun and revolver were already trained on him.
"I shot you once and yet you paid kids to steal from me. I warned you that the next time you cross me, I will end you," Alexander stated. The man opened his mouth, trying to utter a word, but Alexander fired a shot, dropping him where he stood.
Rilain lowered her shotgun and stared at him through narrowed eyes.
"What? I did warn him I would end him...didn't I?"
As the smoke cleared, Alexander and Rilain looted the ship, reclaiming their property and acquiring some new toys, as well as the ship and engine parts.
Afterwards, Rilain said, "What do we do now?"
After some thought, Alexander said, "Let’s blow it up." Pulling a grenade out of his bag as they walked down the gangplank, he tossed the grenade in and walked way as it exploded, which caused the ship to be consumed in flames as it plummeted from the dock.
They returned to the Gazelle to clean things up and realized there was still a person locked in the cage. Come to find out, he had bled out and died. So, they threw the now two dead bodies overboard, cleaned up the blood, and went out for drinks that they desperately needed.